Delux Drink Package - Watch out - Deceptive Not a sale !

[Artemus]

Thank you, Bob.I did the ten drink card once but can’t remember the deal. 

[Merion_Mom]

1 hour ago, olya1972 said:

For January, 2019 Anthem cruise this package was $887 ($47 per person per day plus 18%) few weeks ago. I asked same question on corresponding Rall Call and was told it was $45 per person per day plus 18% during the summer months, then it went up. 

 

That price is for two people on an 8 night cruise?

 

Best to just cite per person per day cost without 18%.  That's the only comparable in this argument.

 

And Royal Caribbean raised prices for 2019.

[Artemus]

Does anyone know the 10 drink card deal❓

[Clarea]

4 minutes ago, Artemus said:

Does anyone know the 10 drink card deal❓

 

Not offered on every sailing.  If it does get offered, it usually shows up in the second half of the cruise.  Price varies, mostly I've seen around $80 to $90 plus 18% reported.

[zdad59]

6 minutes ago, Artemus said:

Does anyone know the 10 drink card deal❓

 

When its offered, and its not always, its usually ~$80 (plus 18% gratuity) for a 10 drink card.    Same drink limitations as the deluxe package.

Edited November 24, 2018 by zdad59

[Artemus]

I’m probably wrong but I was thinking it was less than $80 because when I bought it last year I only used it for beer and came out pretty good on the deal. 10 beers would be less than $80.

[Clarea]

5 minutes ago, Artemus said:

I’m probably wrong but I was thinking it was less than $80 because when I bought it last year I only used it for beer and came out pretty good on the deal. 10 beers would be less than $80.

 

The price varies.  I've seen it as low as $69 a couple of years ago, but I've not seen that low of a price reported in a while.

[not-enough-cruising]

8 minutes ago, Artemus said:

I’m probably wrong but I was thinking it was less than $80 because when I bought it last year I only used it for beer and came out pretty good on the deal. 10 beers would be less than $80.

In addition to the “10 drink card” there is also offered, occasionally, a “beer card”. This could be the card you are remembering. 

[Iamcruzin]

The whole point behind a sale is so people leave with a good feeling that they have made a sound business discussion. Even a good used car salesman can accomplish this. Royal Caribbean's marketing strategy, deceptive or not leaves patrons with a bad feeling of being cheated.  Even if one person walks away feeling this way it's a big fail. It doesn't take a Madison Avenue   executive to figure out from all of these similar threads that it's just not working. I can only assume that anyone who agrees with their tactics are employed by Royal Caribbean. The Marketing department is just as bad if not worse than their IT department.

 

Now with that said, comparing drink packages between other lines, if the deluxe drink package is under $50 plus gratuity it's still less than what Celebrity and Princess charges for a similar drink package. Celebrity offers the classic drink package with your booking of an ocean view or higher but if you want the premium liquor you need to upgrade to the premium package. Princess charges $59 plus gratuity.  

 

I booked one deluxe drink package at $49 and one refreshment package at $17.  The deluxe started out at $50, jumped to $52 and I purchased at $49. Not a great savings but it was a sale. The better deal was on the refreshment package which was priced between $21 and $26. I drink mostly soft drinks and water so even if I purchase a few drinks it's still a savings.  

Edited November 25, 2018 by Iamcruzin

[Biker19]

10 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

The whole point behind a sale is so people leave with a good feeling that they have made a sound business discussion.

It is? No wonder so many people are disappointed. 

[Iamcruzin]

2 hours ago, Biker19 said:

It is? No wonder so many people are disappointed. 

A good promotion will create a sense of urgency and leave the customer with the feeling that they have scored a good deal. Repeated evidence from this message board seems to prove that Royal Caribbean has failed miserably at both.  

[canyonblue737]

There are two things going on with this thread...

 

1. People think the wording of RCI's sales, including this "BOGO 50" is deceptive.

2. People think the sales aren't very good.

 

Well one is right. Sorry but the wording of the BOGO 50 is not deceptive. RCI has always made clear for years and years (and also in this sale right now) that prices shown are always bottom line prices AFTER the discount is applied so that the buyer doesn't need to do the mental gymnastics of reducing the number shown by 50% or whatever.

 

As for the "big" Black Friday sales we all were hoping for, well other than a strong discount on refreshment packages I think the other sales, including for the deluxe drink package, shore excursions etc. are at best a few bucks here or there and in many cases non-existent vs the previous sale prices (like jewelry; drink packages, shore excursions, dining, and cruises are ALWAYS on some kind of "sale"). That may be disappointing to us all but it is a sign that RCI thinks they will get plenty enough folks to buy at the higher price anyway and that is capitalism at its finest. If they are wrong keep watching your Cruise Planner because at some point then they will drop the price.

Edited November 25, 2018 by canyonblue737

[twangster]

1 hour ago, Iamcruzin said:

Repeated evidence from this message board seems to prove that Royal Caribbean has failed miserably at both.  

 

This board has a number of folks who will never be happy.  If they stopped putting it on sale except for Black Friday (like it used to be a few years ago) the same glass half empty folks would complain they should offer more frequent sales.  Be careful what you wish for.  

 

 

[John&LaLa]

On 11/23/2018 at 10:15 AM, pcur said:

Whenever RCCL advertises "BOGO" pricing of any kind, the price they show is the average price per person.  The price IS the BOGO amount.

 

This sounds like deja vu all over again.  Remember all the confusion when bogoho fares were first created. 

 

The price is the price.

[John&LaLa]

On 11/23/2018 at 5:15 PM, Host Clarea said:

 

Unpredictable, but it doesn't matter.  Just cancel and reorder if you see a better price.

 

That can be risky though.  There's a new thread this weekend about someone who changed their pkg and now their booking is hosed.

 

Not the first instance of that either. 

Edited November 25, 2018 by John&LaLa

[Husky1987]

1 hour ago, Iamcruzin said:

A good promotion will create a sense of urgency and leave the customer with the feeling that they have scored a good deal. Repeated evidence from this message board seems to prove that Royal Caribbean has failed miserably at both.  

 

And yet, despite all the repeated evidence from this message board regarding “fake sales”, Royal Caribbean continues to sell out cruises and sell drink packages like they’re going out of style.

 

I’d say the evidence supports the conclusion that the CC whiners are a small minority.

[John&LaLa]

On 11/24/2018 at 12:00 PM, TTraub1250 said:

You said "What world are you living in". " In my world ( the real world)" thus implying to a reader that you live in the real world and that the other person does not, by asking that question.  

 

Military service & Where ?     I was in Qui Nhon & Vung Tao Vietnam, Pusan Korea, Japan, and China. With teaching missions in Croatia, Kosovo and Dubai. 

 

Wow, you rarely see someone get called out on their service record.

[John&LaLa]

19 hours ago, Artemus said:

I’m probably wrong but I was thinking it was less than $80 because when I bought it last year I only used it for beer and came out pretty good on the deal. 10 beers would be less than $80.

 

I've seen a beer card before, dont recall details

[Froggy1369]

1 hour ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Wow, you rarely see someone get called out on their service record.

 

I don’t know that it was a call out. As a veteran, I know the first question asked by me or to me after rank/BOS is usually where did you serve? Especially with guys/gals who served in the same time frame as me. More of a, I wonder if we crossed paths kind of thing. 

[John&LaLa]

8 minutes ago, Froggy1369 said:

 

I don’t know that it was a call out. As a veteran, I know the first question asked by me or to me after rank/BOS is usually where did you serve? Especially with guys/gals who served in the same time frame as me. More of a, I wonder if we crossed paths kind of thing. 

 

Understood. Apologies.  Never served, but I'm a Navy Dad.  Youngest is a Nuke on Reagan

[LSUfan4444]

The deluxe package has been $52/day for weeks and the most recent sale has dropped the price to $49/day. I consider that a sale but I never focus or even really think about the "discount"....just focus on the bottom line price.

[Iamcruzin]

1 hour ago, Husky1987 said:

 

And yet, despite all the repeated evidence from this message board regarding “fake sales”, Royal Caribbean continues to sell out cruises and sell drink packages like they’re going out of style.

 

I’d say the evidence supports the conclusion that the CC whiners are a small minority.

The CC whiners are more experienced and keep on top of pricing more than the average Joe who books a cruise or purchases a drink package and never looks back. They just accept what is being advertised as the truth and since they are the majority of the passengers the marketing works. As for the rest of us we choose not to buy a pig in a poke.

[Cheezus]

4 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

A good promotion will create a sense of urgency and leave the customer with the feeling that they have scored a good deal. Repeated evidence from this message board seems to prove that Royal Caribbean has failed miserably at both.  

 

The problem with your theory is that you are using this message board as evidence. This is a cruise message board, and the people here are much more detail oriented when it comes to these things. 

 

This is not the proper focus group. We are not the people Royal caters these sales to.  They don't cater these sales to people who check daily and share spreadsheets on cruise forums. 

 

The marketing is probably very effective. NCL has been doing it forever as well. 

 

And by the way, the sale for drink and internet combined package for a Symphony cruise I have next year was indeed cheaper during this sale than it was the day before. 

Edited November 25, 2018 by Cheezus

[Froggy1369]

1 hour ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Understood. Apologies.  Never served, but I'm a Navy Dad.  Youngest is a Nuke on Reagan

 

Thank him for his service from me please. And thank you to you and his mom. It takes a lot to be a parent of a service member. 

 

My real father was a nuke on the Nautilus in Groton shortly before she was decommissioned. 

[Biker19]

15 minutes ago, Cheezus said:

And by the way, the sale for drink and internet combined package for a Symphony cruise I have next year was indeed cheaper during this sale than it was the day before. 

The thing is, you can't say for sure that this particular sale is what caused the price drop. Most large cabin price drops are not because of "sales", but because that particular sailing is not selling well at current prices and RCI has decided the cut the pricing.